Page 2: Cyberbullying

Unit 4, Lab 3, Page 2

On this page, you will learn about different forms of online harassment.

IOC-1.A.3, IOC-1.B.3, IOC-1.B.4, IOC-1.F.8

Social media are designed to improve lives by helping people communicate and collaborate, but cyberbullying was an unexpected, illegal, and unethical misuse. It would have been better if the programmers who invented social media had anticipated these possibilities (although it’s not obvious what they would have done differently). Today, responsible programmers do try to predict possible misuses of their software before they release it to the world. But it’s not possible for programmers to anticipate all of the possible misuses of a technology.

1. What are some different forms cyberbullying can take?

   • Conduct some online research. Use this resource, or find your own: What methods work with the different kinds of cyberbullies? (stopcyberbullying.org)

2. Have a class discussion. First, share some of your findings from the online research about the different forms cyberbullying can take. Then, together, discuss the following:

   • What are some ways to effectively address this issue?
   • What are challenges to addressing cyberbullying?

1. How can you bring some of these ideas to the rest of your school? What should all students know about cyberbullying? What school-wide policies might you suggest and communicate to the rest of the student body?